Dinner Conversations
by OhHappyDay2000
Summary: After the 'Parent Revelation' the atmosphere in the Montgomery household has considerably chilled. Is one dinner between the parents and the daughter's boyfriend going to shed some light on a previously thought 'wrong' relationship?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone, **

**This is a re-post of the original first chapter! I've just made some minor grammatical changes and tried to make it smoother to read! **

**Thank-you so much to all of you for the story alerts and reviews! You just made my day! **

**cky297: You completely made me check over it again. You were right, it was reading a bit rough! Sorry about the quotation marks as well. My laptop broke ages ago and whilst it's gotten fixed, force of habit prevents me from to use the proper speech marks! In regards to the "smart" words. I'm truly sorry if you can't understand them! It's the way I've been raised to speak and I sometimes just use too many in one sentence! Thanks for the corrections! **

**OhHappyDay2000 x**

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><p>Ezra had just gotten out of the shower, his curly hair damp, he only had time to slip on his pyjama pants before he heard a loud knock at the door.<p>

"Aria, can you check who it is?" he called out.

"What? Are you not decent?" she teasingly responded.

Ezra smiled, rolling his eyes "Just, get the door while I find a shirt."

Aria grinned as she hoisted herself off the couch. They'd just told her parents about them and tonight was one of the many nights since, in which she'd had to sneak out the 'Mike' way. She couldn't submit to the idea that their relationship was wrong! She just couldn't! How could Ezra, EVER, be bad for her? He was always nothing but good to her. He was always there for her, to talk, to distract her from everything that had been going on over the past year; even refusing his own 'needs'. Aria blushed. She'd often wondered what it'd be like with Mr Fitz, but then again, it would be providing an even stronger reason to tear them apart.

She walked up to the door and was just about to open it when she heard an unmistakable voice coming from the other side. "Ezra, Mr Fitz… It's Ella. We need to talk."

Aria's eyes widened in shock! Running to the bathroom she wrenched the door open. "Ezra,mumsoutsidethedoor."

Ezra put his hands on either side of her face in a calming gesture. "Aria, it's ok, calm down. What?"

Enunciating each word, Aria replied 'MY-MOTHER-IS-OUTSIDE-YOUR-DOOR!'

It was amazing how fast the man could act. Ezra e ushered her into the shower and ran to the door, hastily pulling a random jacket over his bare torso before letting Ella in.

"Thank-you for finally answering your door Ezra." Ella's displeased voice rang out. She obviously didn't want to be there.

Ezra, ever polite, nodded to the couch "Please, sit down."

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><p>Locked in the bathroom Aria couldn't wait any longer! Staying hidden while her mother and her boyfriend decided what to do? Yeah, she didn't think so! She tiptoed to the bathroom door and grabbed an empty glass, flipping it and holding it to the wooden panel. The clear sounds coming from outside told her that her listening device worked perfectly.<p>

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><p>Ezra cleared his throat. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked.<p>

Ella glared, "Oh please, like you can be polite after you told us you were banging our UNDER AGE daughter!" she spit out venomously.

Ezra blanched and chocked out his response "Ella, we never. I mean, I'm not bang-I'm just not!"

She took a deep, calming breath before saying "Look, Byron and I do not approve any of this. We do, however, love our daughter. We need to know the full extent of what you did. We need to understand why she did what she did. So far, it seems that the only way to get through to her is by accepting you and while we won't promise any such thing we can grant you a few hours. Probation if you will. "

Ezra narrowed his eyes in confusion "What are you talking about?"

"We're inviting you to dinner. Tomorrow. 8 o'clock. Do not be late. I'll show myself out." With that, Ella rose and was half way to the door before she paused "I'd almost forgotten. You might want to bring Aria that jacket back. She's probably wondering where it went." The door closed. Ella had gone.

Ezra couldn't but stare at his apartment door completely dumbstruck. His first thoughts went to the jacket; he hastily removed it and placed it back on the couch. The rest of him couldn't believe it. They'd just been given a chance! An opportunity! Finally!

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><p>Aria, meanwhile, had put down her 'listening' glass as soon as Ella had uttered the word 'dinner'. She was now busy grinning madly into the mirror. Maybe, just maybe, a dinner would change everything!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**_This is a short chapter, I know, sorry! It's just Aria and Ezra's thoughts before the big dinner. The next chapter's going to be way longer, I promise. Enjoy ~ OhHappyDay2000_**

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><p>Aria smoothed her dress in a nervous fashion. She'd been ready for hours and had been anxiously watching the clock, waiting for 8:30. It was only 6:00, Ezra was due to the Montgomery household in exactly two and a half hours. The wait, was excruciating.<p>

She'd had to change over a dozen of times. Since they'd told her parents about their relationship, she wasn't allowed to wear anything even slightly revealing. Phrases like "too short" "that neckline is too low" and "too clingy" had become predominant in every conversation.

For 'The Dinner' Aria had been made to wear a disgusting, itchy, loose, long sleeved tunic that almost reached her ankles. She'd been allowed a belt after an hour of pleading but even that didn't do much to improve the look. Thankfully Ezra wouldn't be paying too much attention to her tonight as much as trying to survive the upcoming hours.

"Aria, can you make the salad?" shouted Ella.

"Coming mum" Aria responded before trudging to the kitchen. She wasn't the only one on edge about the dinner. Her parents had been cooking non-stop since that morning. It seemed they wanted to make Ezra as uncomfortable as possible by saying "Look at this wonderful meal we've prepared for you, you should be kind to your hosts and leave their daughter alone"

Aria loved her parents and loved Ezra. She hated that the two didn't mix. She so desperately hoped that they'd come around. Tonight was the night that would determine the future of their relationship.

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><p>Ezra had been sitting been sitting on his bed for the last half hour trying to decide whether to bring wine to the dinner. If he did, it would be placing emphasis on his age and if he didn't, it would come off as if he had bad etiquette.<p>

The same process was repeated with everything that day: tie or no tie, formal or casual, should he embrace Aria when he arrived? The answer to the latter came to him easier than the rest; touching their daughter in their presence would not be the best way to impress Ella and Byron, especially since they had such a low opinion of him as it was.

He had decided on wearing the tie. He wore the one Aria had given him just before their first, proper date in Philly. Ezra smiled at the memory. The way she'd strutted into his classroom in the middle of a make-up test had been frightening. What if someone were to figure it out? All his coherent thoughts had disappeared, however, as soon as she unzipped her jacked, revealing the tie underneath.

She was truly the most beautiful girl in the world to him. She was kind, intelligent, funny and sexy as hell. She was perfect.

Everything counted on the upcoming dinner. If he managed to prove to Ella and Byron that he wasn't taking advantage of her, that he truly did love her they'd maybe be more lenient and allow them to, at least, see each-other.

'It has always felt right.' That was the phrase running through his mind as he made his way out of the apartment and to the Montgomery household.

"It has always felt right" Ezra Fitz muttered before ringing the doorbell.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Here's Chapter 3! Hurrah, it's longer than the other one. Don't worry... Chapter 4 will be posted very soon, I'm just working out the last few kinks. It's almost where I wanted but not quite. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Reviews are always lovely! Thank-you for the response to this story. You're all amazing! _**

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><p>Aria bounced to the door as soon as she heard the familiar ring. She was just about to open it when Byron stepped in, gently shoving her aside; there was absolutely no way he would be giving these two any time alone tonight.<p>

Ezra, who had decided in favour of the wine, was standing in wait trying not to think about Byron. Ella, he could handle. She was gentle and kind. Byron was kind as well but he was also a very pissed off, angry father. Ezra didn't want to discover his violent side.

The door to the Montgomery household swang open and Ezra found himself face to face with the man himself.

"Ezra, please come in" said Byron in an overly polite tone. Ezra guessed it was either that or the man who'd threatened to throw him into jail a week earlier.

"Thank-you, Byron. I brought some wine." Ezra stepped inside and held over the bottle. Aria had told him her parents were a fan of Chardonnay so he'd tried to get a bottle that would please their pallets – he hoped.

"Thanks. Ella, look, Ezra brought us wine" tightly chuckled Byron. Ezra was, after all, a ripe 24 year old, it made sense he would bring an alcoholic beverage.

Ella walked to the entrance from the living room. "Ezra, Byron why don't we step out into the living room? We can open that wine over there. Ezra is it chilled?"

Ezra frowned, damn it, he'd forgotten to put it in the fridge! Stupid, stupid! "I'm afraid not, sorry"

Ella pursed her lips, "That's alright, we can open it later". She hated the fact that here he was, in their house, pretending like everything was fine when it clearly was not. Ezra was in a position of power, he was Aria's teacher. It was his responsibility to break it off. Aria too! They'd taught her better. At least, she thought they'd taught her better.

Aria, who had up to that moment waited patiently for an opportunity to say hi, jumped at the silence. "Ezra, hey" she breathed. He'd worn the tie she gave him. She gave him a soft smile.

"Hi" he responded, giving her a slight grin ever so aware of her parents' annoyed faces behind him. Her face reminded him of why he was here. She was the reason.

"Ezra are you coming?" questioned Byron, nodding to the living room. He could not believe Ezra had the audacity to do the boyish smile thing in front of them! Who did he think he was?

"Yeah, of-course" Ezra responded before following Byron to the couch. He noticed that a huge assortment of dips and biscuits was on the coffee table. It looked like Byron and Ella planned to make small talk before dinner. Crap.

As soon as everyone was seated, Aria as far away from Ezra as possible, of –course, silence reigned. The tension in the room was indescribable. Everyone was sitting, limbs tense and eyes glaring, in Ella and Byron's case.

Aria and Ezra kept on looking at each-other nervously.

"Ok, that's it" said Aria standing up. It was crazy! Look at them all, completely avoiding conversation. It seemed it was Aria's place to break the ice.

"Mom, Dad, I love you. I love Ezra too! You brought him here so you could understand us more as a couple but you know that's never going to happen unless you actually talk to him." She said pointing at Ezra.

"Aria's right" said Ella. "Ezra, we have quite a lot of questions we'd like to ask you. We'd like to know more about you from a personal perspective."

Aria frowned, 'personal perspective'? What the hell were they going to ask him? She really hoped it wouldn't surpass a G rating. She would absolutely die!

Ezra nodded at both Byron and Ella, "You can ask me anything and I will answer as truthfully as possible. I love your daughter! Aria and I have fought very hard to stay together. I don't want all of that to have been in vain" Ezra concluded his little speech by looking over at Aria, who was nodding in both agreement and appreciation.

Aria often thought she was the luckiest girl alive. There weren't many men who shared her academic interests, looked amazing and adored her infinitely. As she looked at Ezra, who was defending their love in front of her parents, she couldn't wish for a better man.

"Ezra, dinner's ready. Please join us at the table" invited Ella. Everyone stood up and moved into the dining room where, unbeknownst to the hopeful couple, the equivalent of the spanish inquisition was about to begin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys, **

**I am so sorry about the wait between chapters! Life has been pretty hectic recently, still, that's no excuse for leaving you guys in limbo - I'm really sorry! I'm in the middle of school holidays right now so I'll probably update a little more regularly! Again, SORRY! Reviews are always appreciated as well as any constructive criticism :) **

**Love, **

**OhHappyDay2000 xx**

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><p>As everyone took their place around the oval table the atmosphere had gone from tense to explosive.<p>

Ezra sat down and Aria deftly slid into the seat next to him. She carefully watched Byron's reaction; his face went from a shocked white, to red with anger.

"Aria, please sit somewhere else" he managed to choke out. How dare they get even remotely close to each-other in front of them? Byron was, since the revelation, often attacked by thoughts of his daughter and her teacher doing inappropriate things. Those thoughts completely overtook his capacity to reason and the only thing he wanted to do was to choke the life out of Ezra; once a trusted friend he had manipulated his whole family, including his daughter, into believing he was good. He was but a lowly being that got off on being with young, innocent girls!

"Dad! Please, let us at least sit together." whispered Aria.

Ella placed a placating hand on Byron's arm. "Byron, let them sit together, after all they aren't stupid enough to - what do teenagers say these days? – 'make out' in front of us, are they?" She questioned turning to the duo.

Ezra and Aria's eyes bugged out and they both enthusiastically shook their heads. Aria's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Fleetingly mentioning their physical relationship was enough, but something was telling Aria that it was just going to get worse.

Once seated, Ella began passing around the food. She had made salmon, very much aware that Ezra disliked seafood. It was Byron's idea. He wanted to test Ezra's manners. To see what Ezra could withstand from them. Serving food Ezra hated was petty, yes, but what was love without sacrifice?

Aria had begged her parents to be civil but she couldn't overstep her boundaries. This dinner was already a miracle; Aria didn't want push her parents too far, especially when they were already strung up so tight.

As Ella placed the steaming, roasted fish in front of him, Ezra tried his very best to look enticed by the salmon fillet and would have failed miserably if not for Aria placing a comforting hand on his thigh.

The corners of Aria's mouth rose slightly in a smirk; she was touching her ex-English teacher, at dinner with her parents. The strangeness of the situation was absolutely hilarious. She wondered what Ezra was thinking as she began rubbing soft, soothing circles on his leg. The poor man was so nervous. She was too, but she hated seeing him so distressed.

Ezra, who was very acutely feeling that hand, was nervously licking his lips and closely observing Ella and Byron who were, in turn, observing him. If they saw what their daughter was doing right he would be executed on the spot. Then again, her hand held reassurance that everything would work out.

For the next few minutes the tinkering of forks against the china was all that could be heard. The severity of the situation had caused everyone's stomachs to empty. The result was three very hungry adults and a starving teenager. Mind you, the latter had the maturity of a thirty year old.

As they ate, Aria's hand never left Ezra's thigh and, mid-salmon; he had lowered his own hand and softly entwined it in hers. They could get through this. It wasn't going too badly, aside from the fish of-course.

Aria had just finished her salmon; the lemony taste coating her tongue. Byron cleared his throat very loudly, taking advantage of the fact his daughter's mouth was full – he ascertained himself she was fully concentrated on the food before uttering five little words: "So, have you two had sex?"

The ensuring response was hilarious to any outsider but a nightmare for the young couple. Aria spit out her salmon, chocking on the fish whilst Ezra, who was too shocked to even pat his girlfriend's back, just completely paled. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

"Umm, uh, well, hmmm, no!" he managed to choke out whilst Aria pointedly shook her head – her alabaster cheeks flaming red, how could they ask such a thing? Did they have no tact at all?

"Hmm" voiced Byron in a professor tone. After carefully analysing their reactions his being flooded with relief, it didn't look like their relationship had progressed any further than the heated kisses. Still, that very notion was enough to goad them a little further. Besides, he was rather enjoying himself he thought; this will teach Ezra not to mess with their family.

Ezra meanwhile was still regaining his composure. Aria reassuringly squeezed his hand, surely the worst was over! Surely they were not going to subject them to anymore of this… torture was the only word she could use to describe the situation!

Ella scrutinized the two before adding "Because, if you too have indeed embarked on that journey, so to speak, Byron and I want to make sure you have used adequate protection – what would you do, say Aria got a bun in her oven?"

Ezra suppressed a low groan…. he had read Dante's inferno just a couple of weeks ago; he couldn't help but notice the similarities between the book and his current situation. If he survived this, he was going to write his own inferno.


End file.
